2. Consider the Motive for Attack

Hackers Weren't Always Bad...

But within the computing community, the term refers to an expert coder. It's someone who likes the challenge of examining the intricacies of code or an operating system.

So, in general, hackers are not malicious or criminals. Often when hackers find security vulnerabilities in code, they provide information to the organization that’s who wrote the software. They help to fix the problem. Some companies are now even offering a bounty reward to hackers who find bugs in their software.

However, some hackers publish the vulnerabilities. Or even devise and publish exploits (code that takes advantage of the vulnerability).

Attackers Have Motives

Attackers have a variety of motives.

Some may be looking to steal money, information identities, and other secrets for personal gain. They may be looking for corporate secrets for their employer’s or their own use. Or they might even be looking for state secrets to be used by hostile governments or terrorist organizations.

Some hackers break into applications or operating systems just to demonstrate their skills and gain bragging rights.

Nevertheless, they can cause considerable damage. Because attacks can be automated and replicated, any weakness, no matter how slight, can be exploited.

So, you need to identify and understand the nature of the threats to your software. Then, you can address them.

3. No One Is Safe

Devices and applications are constantly under attack.

Black hat hackers find new vulnerabilities and publish exploit code. Criminals and malcontents then use that exploit code to attack vulnerable systems. And the hackers have an increasingly easier time finding devices to attack.

Major attacks of viruses or worms get a lot of attention from the media. It doesn't need to be a massive attack to cause monetary and other damages, either. A single break in a device often goes unnoticed. But it can have a significant impact on a person or business.

Richard Bellairs

Product Marketing Manager, Perforce

Richard Bellairs has 20+ years of experience across a wide range of industries. He held electronics and software engineering positions in the manufacturing, defense, and test and measurement industries in the nineties and early noughties before moving to product management and product marketing. He now champions Perforce’s market-leading code quality management solution. Richard holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from the University of Sheffield and a professional diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).